Heart Strings
by jemabarr
Summary: What's Lucy to do when she can't get a date for Natsu and Lisanna's wedding? Rating may go up in later chapters. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.
1. Plan C

Lucy was trying her best to look happy.

The festive air was contagious, as she looked out over her friends and, though not related by blood, her family, Lucy couldn't help but want to enjoy herself. While Fairy Tale was famous for several things, be their lack of respect for other people's property, their tendencies towards causing destruction, or just being a rowdy bunch of mages collected in one place, the guild was lesser known for being able to party at any moment for any reason. But the occasion for the current party was an auspicious one, one to really celebrate. It was a party for Natsu and Lisanna, celebrating their engagement to each other.

The affair was about as formal as Fairy Tail could get. People were in tuxedos and cocktail dresses, and the guild hall had been somewhat spruced up for the occasion, but some people either forgot it was a black tie affair or just flat out refused to conform.

But Natsu and Lisanna were happy with the turn out, and that was what mattered. Even though Erza had to twice step in to prevent a fight from breaking out, everything was going as smoothly as possible thanks to party-planner Mira.

Lucy, however, wasn't feeling the happiest she could be. Don't get her wrong, she was thrilled when she heard her best friend was (at last!) engaged to his childhood sweetheart. And she more than readily accepted Lisanna's proposition to be a bridesmaid at the wedding, having become friends with the Strauss sister as well. And while everyone seemed to think the celestial mage and fire dragon slayer had deeper feelings for each other, that just wasn't the case. They were good friends and nothing else.

What dampened Lucy's spirits, however, was the realization that she was the only one out of all her friends that wasn't dating anyone. Sitting at the bar and looking out at the dance floor, Lucy couldn't stop the sigh from leaving her lungs.

Everyone seemed so happy, slow dancing to the romantic music. Lucy couldn't help the pang of loneliness in her heart. Nearly everyone in the guild was out on the dance floor, each paired up with someone. Natsu and Lisanna were together of course, doing what should have been dancing, but Natsu was definitely out of step with the tempo of the song and going at a faster beat than he should have been. Gray was attempting to dance with Juvia, the water mage being surprisingly calm in the arms of her beloved. But Gray was so stiff that he was hardly moving at all, so Lucy wouldn't call their interaction actual dancing. Erza was with Mystogan (or rather the cleverly disguised Jellal), Elfman was with Evergreen, and Mira was taking a break from the bar to dance with Freed, her head resting on his shoulder, both wearing serene expressions. Even Wendy was on the dance floor, blushing in the arms of an equally embarrassed Romeo. Lucy nearly squealed at the sight of the two youngsters, making such a cute couple. And heaven knows where Cana and Bickslow ran off to (Lucy could guess it was into a storage closet), while Lucy could just make out her favorite couple, Gajeel and Levy, on the other side of the dance floor.

So you can see why Lucy was feeling a little left out at the moment. It seemed that everyone in Fairy Tail was in a relationship but her. She loved her friends like family, but there were times when she would find herself to be jealous of their happiness. Lucy liked to think that she could get a guy any time she wanted, using her feminine wiles to charm any decent-looking man on the street. But that just wasn't true. Lucy was certainly beautiful and charming, but she was just too innocent to really be called seductive. But she was ready for a relationship, an honest to goodness relationship with a man she was head-over-heels in love with. She was ready for 'Mr. Right' to come along and characteristically sweep her off her feet. If only she knew _who_ she was waiting for.

The song filtering through the speakers changed to a more upbeat song and the dancers switched gears. Lucy noticed Mirajane and Freed stopped dancing all together and left the dance floor, going their separate ways after sharing a word with each other. Freed kissed her hand and went in search of his teammates, while Mira returned to the bar, her hands on either side of her heated face. Lucy thought about teasing her, but decided against it.

"Oh, Lucy! There you are," Mira exclaimed, noticing the celestial mage. "You're not dancing?"

"Nah," Lucy said with a shrug. "I'd rather watch the show." She pointed to one particular corner of the dance floor, where Natsu's exaggerated dance moves made a few people stop what they were doing and stare at the fire mage. If it wasn't for the music, Lucy would think that her best friend was attempting to do the hokey-pokey.

Mira giggled alongside Lucy. Then she turned to the blonde and said, "Lucy, I've been meaning to ask..."

"What?" Lucy inquired, tearing her gaze away from the dance floor.

"Who's going with you to the wedding?" Mira asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

Lucy nearly dropped her drink at the question. "Huh?"

"The wedding! Who's going to be your date?" she asked again.

"Oh, uh," Lucy stumbled over her words. "I uh, don't have a date yet."

Lucy was unsure what the take-over mage's reaction would be to this statement. She half expected Mira to feel sorry for her, while the other half expected her eyes to light up as a new matchmaking scheme came to fruition. It was the latter that ended up happening.

"Oh, that's perfect! You know who else doesn't have a date?" the oldest Strauss sibling asked as she leaned closer to Lucy.

 _Do I want to know?_ Lucy thought, but ended up asking, "Who?"

Mira gave the celestial mage a knowing grin. "Laxus," she said in a low voice.

Lucy was genuinely surprised. Without even thinking, she looked down at the opposite side of the bar to see Laxus staring back at her, as if he had heard their conversation. Lucy blushed red at being caught before Laxus gave her a cocky grin and got up from his seat and went over to the table where Freed was seated. Lucy quickly turned back around.

"I-I can't go with him!" Lucy said in a loud whisper.

Mira cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"

Lucy pressed her lips together into a fine line. She couldn't exactly tell the take-over mage she was slightly intimidated by Laxus. He was strong, good-looking, tall, sexy...way out of her league. Okay, so _maybe_ she liked him. A little.

Mira suddenly gave her a suspicious-looking smile as she glanced between the two blondes. Lucy wanted to slam her face onto the bar counter. Well, if Mira didn't think Lucy had a crush on Laxus before, she certainly thought so now!

Mira leaned over the bar towards Lucy. "Well, if you're too scared to ask him yourself, I could..."

Lucy needed to fix this, fast.

"Mira, it's fine. I can find a date for myself," the blonde interrupted her.

Mira frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Lucy replied. "And if all else fails, I can just ask Loke to go with me!"

Mira arched an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? It's really no trouble for me. And I think you and Laxus would be perfect paired together!" she exclaimed, her match-making side coming out.

"It's fine," Lucy repeated. "I'll have no problem finding a date for this wedding!"

 **A week before the wedding...**

Lucy collapsed onto her bed, at a loss of what to do. She rolled over and smothered her face into a pillow, stifling her groan of defeat.

It had been three weeks. _Three weeks._ And in all that time, Lucy had yet to find a date for the wedding. It wasn't that she had trouble finding actual men to date. The problem that would always arise was the particulars of the date itself. Men would agree to go on a date with her, then freeze and run away the moment she mentioned going to a wedding. What did they think, she was asking them to marry her?!

Lucy probably should have seen this problem beforehand. A wedding date wasn't exactly something casual like going out to dinner. Most men probably thought going to a wedding with a girl was something that required a commitment between the two. At this point, Lucy had probably failed at procuring a date for the wedding, having asked out nearly every available man in Magnolia. Scratch that. Every _attractive_ available man in Magnolia. What in the heavens was she supposed to do?!

 _Wait..._ Lucy suddenly rolled over and sat up.

"Of course!" she suddenly cried out and stood up off her bed. She reached for her keys on the side table beside her bed and chose one particular key before holding it out in front of her.

"Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!"

A burst of light appeared in the room before the lion. He flicked his hair and gracefully bowed before his owner.

"What can I do for you, beautiful?" were the first words out of his mouth.

Lucy shrugged off his flirtations and got straight to the point, though she was a bit nervous.

"Hi, Loke. I was wondering, if you're not too busy, could you go to Natsu and Lisanna's wedding with me as my date?" she asked.

Loke sank to one knee and held Lucy's hand in his. "Oh, Lucy. I would be honored to go with you."

Lucy let out a sigh of relief, glad that her problem was finally fixed. "Great! Now that's done, I-"

"But I cannot."

Lucy blinked at her spirit, thinking she had misheard. "What?"

Loke gave her a despondent look before bowing his head to her. "I'm sorry. But you see, I thought you would have already gotten a date for the wedding. So I went ahead and asked Aries to a date of our own, seeing as I wasn't invited."

Lucy looked at him with some sympathy. Seeing as he was technically a member of Fairy Tail, it probably hurt him that Natsu and Lisanna hadn't sent him anything. But it wasn't like they could send an invitation into the celestial world. "Oh, Loke. I-"

"But...I could postpone it, seeing as-"

"No!" Lucy whipped her hand out of his grasp. Loke looked back up at her in surprise.

"Don't you dare break off that date, Loke!" Lucy said, suddenly angry.

"What?" the lion asked of his master.

"You know how Aries feels about you! It would break her heart if you postponed a date with her for even a minute! I won't let you do that for my sake!"

"But what about..."

"I'll be fine," Lucy said lightheartedly, shrugging her shoulders. With a smile, she instructed her spirit, "You go on that date with Aries and make her happy! Or I'll never forgive you."

The lion gave his master a heartfelt smile. It was so like her, to sacrifice her own happiness for her spirits. Though turning down a date and opting for one with Aries seemed rather trivial to anyone else, he understood that Lucy would refuse to inconvenience her spirits' own happiness, especially the ones she was closest to.

Loke stood up and enveloped Lucy into a hug. "Thank you, Princess. I promise to give her the time of her life during our date." He stepped back and winked at her. "And afterward, too."

Lucy slapped his arm, but wore a smile on her face. "Pervert!" she called him. Loke just laughed with her.

As soon as the lion spirit was gone, Lucy slumped over and lay back down on her bed, filled with hopelessness. Her spirit was the last person she wanted to see her looking so depressed. She stared up at her boring white ceiling and sighed.

Thinking out loud, she said to no one in particular, "Well, there's always plan C, I guess."

It was with some trepidation that Lucy made her way over to the guild. Even though the wedding was within a week, it was surprisingly quiet at the guild, with many people out finishing up their missions so that they could be present for the event. Despite her many duties as the wedding planner and maid of honor, Mirajane was quietly wiping down the bar with a peaceful expression on her face. Swallowing her pride, Lucy marched right up to her and greeted her.

Mira smiled back and returned the greeting, "Hi Lucy. Can I get you a strawberry smoothie?"

"No thanks, Mira. I actually came over for something else," Lucy said as she looked down at the floor, wringing her hands together.

"Oh? What's on your mind?" Mira asked.

"Well...it's just that I haven't been able to find a date to go to the wedding with me...and I was hoping-"

"Oh, Lucy! I knew you would come around!" Mira exclaimed, reaching over the bar and capturing Lucy into a bone-crushing hug.

"Uh, Mira?" Lucy choked out.

"Oh! Sorry!" Mira suddenly released the celestial mage. Mira gave her a second to compose herself before jumping back into conversation. "Now-Laxus isn't here at the moment, so you'll have to catch him tomorrow morning when he comes in to do paperwork..."

"What?" Lucy asked, looking up at the take-over mage in confusion.

"Laxus! You'll have to ask him to go with you to the wedding since it he doesn't seem to get the hints I've been dropping about asking you out..."

Lucy sweatdropped. Of course Mira would have kept this matchmaking scheme of hers going when Lucy wasn't around. She waved her hands in denial. "Mira! I'm not here about Laxus! I came over to see if you knew anyone _else_ was available!"

Mirajane wilted a little. Then raised an eyebrow as a thought crossed her mind.

"Why anyone else? What's wrong with Laxus?" she asked.

"Well...he can be a little... _brusque_ sometimes. And it would just be so embarrassing to be the one to ask _him_ out," the celestial mage countered, her face tinged red at the mere thought of Laxus.

Mira shook her head at the blonde. "Oh, Lucy. You're just overthinking things. Besides, he seems to be the only one without a date for the wedding; at least that's what I've heard." 

Lucy's shoulders sagged. "Really? There's no one else?"

"Well, Jet and Droy are still holding out for Levy, even though it's pretty obvious Gajeel is her date," Mira put a finger on her chin in thought. "So really it's Laxus or no one."

"Well, thanks anyway Mira," Lucy said as she turned to go.

"Please, Lucy? It's just one date."

Lucy turned back around and wished she hadn't. The watery eyes of the take-over mage made her feel guilty all of a sudden, and she wasn't sure why. With her hands pressed together and her lip pouting, Mira looked all too much like a pleading child. Lucy sighed in defeat.

"Alright. I guess if it's just one date..."

Mira was instantly elated. "Oh, Lucy you won't regret it!" she cried. "Now," she said, switching gears, "Laxus has already left for the day, so you'll have to ask him tomorrow morning. Got it?"

"Got it," Lucy sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mira." Lucy turned toward the door and walked out, ready to retire to her apartment for the evening.

As soon as Lucy was out of sight, Mira turned toward the second level of the guild where Master Makorov was standing. She gave him a conspiring smile and a thumbs up. Makorov shared her smile before returning to his office.

Lucy stood nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she stood in front of the closed door to his office. Laxus' office.

It was late in the morning. Lucy had been sitting at the bar drinking her strawberry smoothie when Laxus came in that day. While she caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye, she resisted the temptation to turn her head and look at him, knowing he would undoubtedly see the bright blush on her face. Then that cocky grin of his would appear, and she just _knew_ she would die of embarrassment.

She had waited a full hour after he went upstairs into his office to gather the courage to follow him.

Taking one last deep breath, she poised her hand to knock when a voice from the other side of the door called out, "Come in already."

Lucy winced. He must have heard her approach and stand awkwardly in front of his office for a full minute. Stupid dragon slayers and their senses.

Lucy opened the door and peeked inside. It was small office, with the large paper-laden desk dominating the room. Laxus was behind the desk, glancing up at the visitor to his little hellhole before returning his gaze to the damage report in front of him. "What do you want, Blondie?"

Lucy decided now was not the time to talk back to the lightning mage. Swallowing her urge to argue or to run away, she stepped up to the desk. She took a deep breath.

"Laxus."

He lifted his head to look at her, a bored and slightly irritated look on his face. Lucy could guess that the monthly damage reports were giving him a headache.

"What is it?" he asked. Lucy could practically feel the tension within her reach a breaking point, and the urge to run never felt stronger. Oh, she hated this.

She decided to just come out and say it, get it over with.

"You see, I don't have a date to the wedding, and Mira tells me you don't have a date either. So I was wondering if we could maybe go together?" she asked, her small smile not betraying the fact that her hands were shaking. Laxus blinked at her, his expression unchanging.

He looked back down at the paper in front of him. "I already have a date," he said as he wrote something down.

Lucy felt as if the ground had given way underneath her and she was falling into a bottomless pit. Oh, she just wanted to go under a rock and hide!

"Oh...I'm sorry for wasting your time then," Lucy tried to play her reaction off as indifferent. She turned toward the door, "So I guess I'll just-"

"I'm kidding," Laxus interrupted her. Lucy paused with her hand on the door knob. She turned back around.

"Huh?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up as he looked at her, his pen stilled in his hand. "I don't actually have a date," he said.

Now Lucy was just confused. "But you said..."

"I lied," he admitted while he leaned back in his chair. "I just wanted to see your reaction. I admit, I'd hoped you'd be a little more...disappointed."

Lucy felt herself bristling a little. Was he trying to make her jealous or something? Because she wasn't!

Lucy huffed. "Well, if you're just going to make a joke out of this, I'll just leave."

"I'll go with you," he suddenly said, making her pause at the door. She turned back around to face him. She didn't like the smirk on his face. "If I get something in return," he continued.

Lucy arched an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about?" He leaned forward in his chair.

"I could get a date if I wanted to. Truth is, I'd rather gag then see Fire Freak tie the knot. But Gramps is making me go. So I have no choice," Lucy felt herself bristling again. She wanted to defend her friend, but he continued talking. "I planned on going by myself; there would be no problem with that. But it's different if _you_ were to go alone, right?"

Lucy couldn't argue. He had a point. "So?" she asked.

Laxus leaned back in his chair again. "The way I see it, I would be doing you a favor by going with you. Not the other way around. So what do I get if I let you hang off my arm, hm?"

Lucy grit her teeth in anger. Oh, she was just itching to give him a swift Lucy Kick in the face. _Let_ her hang off his arm?! _He_ was doing _her_ a favor?!

"Fine," she said through her teeth. She counted to five and took a deep breath. Blowing up in his face wouldn't make things any better. "What do you want?"

"What do you have to offer?" he said, looking her up and down. Lucy could only guess what he was thinking, considering perversion ran in the Dreyer family.

She looked at the sorry state of his desk. There were papers and pens scattered everywhere, and the pile in the corner of the desk looked like it would fall over if you so much as breathed on it.

"What? On the desk? Didn't know you were into that," Laxus said with a devilish grin.

Lucy stiffened as a blush rose in her face. "I'm not!" she stated angrily.

"You're not into paperwork? Don't blame ya. I'm not a big fan either."

Lucy stilled. "Huh?"

"You were going to offer to help with my paperwork, weren't you? What did you think I had in mind?" he stood and leaned over the desk towards her, his grin widening.

"N-Nothing!"

Laxus suddenly broke out in to laughter, nearly doubling over in mirth. Lucy's blush only reddened.

"Oh, you are so easy to rile up, Blondie," he said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. Lucy crossed her arms and waited for him to recompose himself.

As soon as his laughter died down, Laxus took a deep breath and focused his attention on the celestial mage in front of him.

"But what do you say? I go with you to the wedding, you help me with my paperwork. Deal?" he didn't offer a hand to shake, but Lucy understood they were making a compromise.

Lucy could think of worse things to do than paperwork, so she nodded in agreement. "Deal."


	2. Wedding Date

The day of the wedding finally arrived. Lucy woke up in plenty of time to get ready. The wedding wasn't until one in the afternoon that day, but Lucy was one of the few volunteers who had agreed to get the church ready for the event. So first Lucy dressed in a regular shirt and pants, wanting to wear something she could move around in. She grabbed her bridesmaid dress, in its protective bag, then headed out of her apartment for the church, knowing she would get dressed there later.

Once she arrived, she sought out Mira, who was already hard at work.

"Oh, Mira! I'm sorry, am I late?" she hurried over to the oldest Strauss sibling, her dress slung over her shoulder. Mira turned to her, taking a break from arranging the pink roses and white lilies that were going to be placed throughout the chapel.

"Oh, not at all Lucy. You're just the first to arrive!" Mira responded. "Now go put your dress away in the girls' dressing room. There's a lot to do!"

Lucy nodded and went to put her dress away in the room reserved for the bridesmaids. Then she returned to Mira and started by helping arrange the urns of pink and white flowers that would be placed in every nook and cranny in the chapel. Soon enough, more help arrived in the form of Elfman and Kinana. The four worked together to get the chapel and lobby decorated in the pink and white color scheme whilst stringing strands of white lights over the walls and littering the aisles with pink flower petals.

About an hour before noon, the wedding party began to arrive, Mirajane making all too sure Natsu and Lisanna were never in the same room. She would not let bad luck ruin her little sister's wedding.

Lucy and the other bridesmaids helped Lisanna get ready by doing her makeup and hair before helping her dress in the beautiful, frilly wedding gown. After ensuring the bride was ready, Mirajane, Erza, Levy, Juvia, and Lucy tended to themselves, each dressed in identical pink sleeveless bridesmaids dresses. Deciding that the dressing room was getting a little stuffy and overcrowded, Lucy stepped out for a minute, saying she was going to check on things out in the lobby.

It was past noon and people were starting to arrive. Lucy easily recognized the Fairy Tail members and Lisanna's extended family members, most of them having the Strauss white hair.

"Lucy!" a voice called out to the blonde. Lucy turned to see a familiar face with light blue hair.

"Yukino!" Lucy exclaimed just before the two girls enveloped each other into a hug. Lucy pulled back. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you too, Blondie," another voice said as an arm was slipped around Yukino's shoulders. Lucy looked up to see the Sabertooth master himself.

Lucy smiled. "Hey, Sting. Hey, Lector." The white dragon slayer smiled back, his Exceed on his shoulder. "I almost forgot you guys were invited, too."

"Yeah, guess Flame Brain wanted to rub it in that he's the first of us to get hitched," Sting shrugged as he pulled Yukino closer. Yukino blushed a little.

Lucy smiled a little slyly. "Since when are you two together? Are you dating?"

Yukino nodded. "Yes, for a couple of weeks now. What about you, Lucy? Are you dating anyone?"

Lucy waved her hands in front of her. "Oh, no. I'm not ready for that yet. But I'm so happy for you both!"

Some commotion on the other side of the lobby interrupted the conversation. Lucy looked over to see Gajeel and Rogue standing practically nose to nose in disagreement. Sting sighed.

"Guess I better break that up," he said. He walked away with Yukino in tow, the latter waving farewell to Lucy.

But time passed all too quickly, and soon enough the wedding started. With Asuka as the flower girl and Happy as the ring bearer, the wedding procession walked down the aisle just before Lisanna made her appearance. And what an appearance she made. As soon as Lisanna turned the corner and started down the aisle, colorful butterflies appeared and soft angelic music began to play. Lucy understood it was all the result of an enchantment, but Lisanna still appeared otherworldly in her snowy white gown and long veil. Elfman accompanied Lissana down the aisle, looking to be on the verge of tears himself.

Lucy sneaked a peek at Natsu standing at the altar. He was wearing the widest grin she had ever seen and his eyes shined with an adoration that Lucy didn't know he had. Turning her gaze back to the bride, Lucy felt tears pricking at her own eyes. She felt the warmth of the love she had for her nakama. Seeing her best friend get married to his childhood friend and love just confirmed to Lucy that there were still good things in the world. Despite being separated from her for several years, Natsu's love for Lisanna endured beyond her death and her reappearance rewarded him. Lucy could only hope that she too could find a love as endurable as that.

Lisanna stepped up to the altar with Natsu and the wedding proceeded. There was an exchange of vows and rings, a kiss, along with cheers and shouts of praise from the guests, and the world was introduced to the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. Natsu Dragneel.

Everyone moved back to the guild for the after party. It was only then that everyone's good behavior began to unravel. Gray promptly shed his jacket, shirt, and tie. Cana planted herself in front of the bar, taking advantage of the open bar that Mira had set up.

Lucy grabbed herself a glass of champagne and made pleasant conversation with various people.

"Alright, everyone! All the ladies gather round!" Mirajane called from the stage. "It's time to toss the bouquet!"

"Come on, Lucy!" Levy suddenly appeared and began to pull the celestial mage along toward the event. The two girls gathered along with a small swarm of women in front of the stage. Lisanna was already on the stage, her back turned and poised to toss her bouquet of flowers over her head. Juvia was in the center of the crowd, hunched over with her legs spread wide like a linebacker trying to catch a football, barking out "The bouquet is Juvia's!" to anyone who got close to her. So Lucy and Levy hung out in the back of the crowd, giving Juvia and the other competitive women plenty of breathing room.

"Don't you want to catch the bouquet, Lu-chan?" Levy asked her friend. Lucy shrugged.

"Not really. There wouldn't be any point, anyway. It's not like I'm dating anyone," she reasoned. "There's no way I'll be the one to get married next."

"Oh, you never know," Levy challenged.

"Here goes!" Lisanna called out, her back to the audience. She tossed the bundle of flowers into the air. The bouquet went sailing over the crowd...and straight for Lucy.

 _Uh oh._ Lucy thought, as at the same time, she saw Juvia turn and make a dive for the flowers that were about to hit Lucy square in the face. _This is gonna hurt._

Just as the scent of fresh roses and lilies filled Lucy's senses, she felt a heavy body crash into her own, sending both of them to the floor. All of the air in Lucy's lungs rushed out of her as she Juvia crushed her.

"Yes!" Juvia called out, waving the bouquet in the air, practically straddling Lucy who was lying on the floor, cringing from the impact to her spine.

"Juvia will be married next!" the water mage announced hugging the flowers to her chest, rather ignoring the fact that everyone in the room was watching her and Lucy in the promiscuous position.

"That's great, Juvia," Mira said, rushing over. "But maybe you should let Lucy get up?"

Juvia didn't seem to hear her, but she got up anyway and ran over to where Gray was getting elbowed by Natsu. "Gray-sama! When will you propose to Juvia?!"

Mira and Levy helped Lucy up off the floor. "You okay, Lucy?" Mira asked.

"I'll live," Lucy said, dusting herself off.

"You know," Mira started to say, a mischievous look in her eye. "Technically you were the one to catch the bouquet."

"I don't think catching the bouquet with your face counts, Mira," Lucy sighed.

The festivities went on with few further incidents. By the time evening rolled around in Magnolia, the party was already winding down. About half of the wedding guests had already left, so only Fairy Tail members were left to bring the party to a close.

The time came to say good-bye to Natsu and Lisanna, who were leaving for their honeymoon after the party. Already packed and changed out of their formal clothes, the newlyweds threw on their backpacks and waved farewell as they made their way to the train station, where they would take a train to a nearby resort. The rest of the guild waved good-bye from the front doors of Fairy Tail. Then they too began to depart for the evening, forgoing the clean-up of the guild for the next day as Mira began to close up.

"Blondie," a familiar gruff voice said behind Lucy. She turned to see Laxus looking off to the side with his arms crossed. "I'm walking you home. Come on."

"What?" Lucy asked, unable to hide her surprise. Where was this coming from?

"You coming or not?" Laxus asked her, not even bothering to turn around as he kept walking away from her.

"Uh, coming!" Lucy hastily waved farewell to the rest of her friends as she jogged to catch up to the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Happy snickered to himself from his perch on Lucy's shoulder.

 _Mira must have made him do this._ Lucy thought to herself, finding it out of character for the Dragon Slayer to offer such a thing, as gruff as he was. They walked in near silence, Lucy a few steps behind Laxus as he lead the way to her house, while Happy kept a conversation going with Lucy about what they would do in their time together (Lucy had agreed to watch Happy while Natsu and Lisanna went on their honeymoon).

After about fifteen minutes, the trio arrived at Lucy's apartment.

"How do you even know where I live, Laxus?" Lucy suddenly asked. Laxus shrugged.

"You're one of the few people who live outside of Fairy Hills. I just remember from doing all the paperwork Gramps gives me," he replied.

"Oh," Lucy walked up to her door. "Well thanks for walking me home, then."

"Yeah," he started to walk away from her, not even bothering to give her a proper farewell. Lucy sighed, rolling her eyes at the Dragon Slayer's indifference.

But unknown to her, Laxus was waiting around the corner, listening to her unlock her door and walk inside, before walking off by himself.

Lucy woke up bright and early the next day. With Natsu and Lisanna gone, Lucy decided today would be a good day to start her training regiment. Long before the wedding, when Natsu and Lisanna were first engaged, Lucy realized that she had been relying a great deal on Natsu and the others whenever they went on missions. It wasn't the first time she had this thought, but it took Natsu and Lisanna getting engaged for it to really dawn on her. She realized things would likely be very different after the pair got married, and Natsu and Happy probably wouldn't have as much time to go on jobs with her anymore. It made her realize she needed to be more independent and self-reliant. But with the wedding coming and all the plans for the lavish event being made, Lucy's thoughts of starting a training regiment took a backseat.

So after rousing a sleepy Happy, Lucy got ready to go for a run to the guild, planning on training both her body and magic that day. Forgoing eating breakfast just yet, Lucy put on her running shoes and went outside. Once she was done with her stretches, she set off for the guild at a steady jog that Happy called 'too slow.' But the damn cat was flying toward the guild, so he had no room to comment.

Lucy didn't meet anyone outside the guild, and was happy that she wasn't quite as winded as she thought she would be.

Lucy and Happy went into the guild, surprised to see there was no one else there but Mira.

"Hello, Lucy, Happy," the take-over mage greeted them. "Quiet morning, huh?"

"Where is everyone?" Lucy asked as she walked up to the bar.

"Probably sleeping or having a hangover. Practically everyone was drinking last night."

Lucy chuckled. "Glad I only had champagne, then."

"So what brings you in so early?" Mira asked.

"I'm going to start a new training regiment today," Lucy explained. She outlined her plans for the coming few weeks as Mira got the celestial mage a glass of water.

"Well, I hope that goes well for you."

"Thanks, Mira. Gotta run!"

Lucy was already at the door when Mira had a thought and called out, "Oh, I meant to ask you-" but the celestial mage was already gone.

Lucy ran back to her apartment and, having worked up a sweat and an appetite, made herself and Happy breakfast before she took a shower.

To get started on her magical training, Lucy and Happy found a good sized clearing by the woods far from the town. Setting their lunches down by a tree, Lucy immediately summoned Capricorn.

Lucy and her spirit started out by meditating while Happy took a catnap nearby. Then, at Lucy's request, they did target practice with a spell she had been working on lately.

Using a nearby stump as a target, Lucy concentrated her magic.

Raising a single finger in the air, Lucy inhaled and stood up straight.

"Meteor Strike!" she cried out while she swung her arm down to point at the target.

The air around the target exploded with sound as dirt and debris flew up from the ground.

The dust cleared, and Lucy walked over to the tree stump to inspect the damage. Instead of a stump though, she found a crater six feet in diameter and three feet deep, with a fist-sized rock at the bottom.

Just then Lucy heard what sounded like slow clapping behind her. She turned to see Laxus of all people, his eyes closed and a smirk on his face as he clapped. Lucy frowned, thinking he was making fun of her.

"What do you want, Laxus?" she said as she crossed her arms. He stopped his clapping and opened his eyes, the smile still present.

"I heard all the commotion and decided to see what was happening. Didn't think you actually had any moves like _that,_ Blondie."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You're blonde, too ya know. And it's a spell that any celestial mage can learn if they're strong enough."

"Hmph. And here I thought your magic was just for show. Guess you really can pack a punch," he said, looking at the crater left by the Meteor Strike.

Lucy growled in annoyance.

"What? I'm giving you a compliment," Laxus raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"For some reason it doesn't sound like a compliment coming from you," Lucy huffed and turned her head.

"Whatever...Blondie," Laxus turned to leave the clearing. "See you."

Lucy looked after him, aggravated. There was just something about the man that annoyed her to no end. And she went on a date with that guy?

Lucy shook her head, clearing it of any thoughts of the Lightning Dragon Slayer. "Come on, Happy. Let's take a break for lunch," she called out to the blue Exceed.

"Yay! Time for yummy fish!"


	3. Monster Hunt

**Whew! Two chapters in one day! Sorry chapter 2 didn't have many LaLu moments, but I promise this one is chock full of 'em!**

 **Anyway, I don't own Fairy Tail.**

One day after Natsu and Lisanna had come back from their honeymoon, Lucy walked into the guild only to have Mira waving at her to come to the bar. The take-over mage told Lucy that Master Makarov wanted to see her as soon as possible, so instead of getting her morning smoothie, Lucy climbed the stairs and went down the hall that led to the master's office.

Lucy arrived at the office, but heard some commotion going on behind the closed door. Not wanting to keep the master waiting, Lucy firmly knocked on the door.

"Come in!" the master's voice called out just after the other voice stopped talking. Lucy opened the door to reveal the master sitting behind his desk...and Laxus leaning against the opposite wall, looking more than a little annoyed.

Lucy closed the door behind her. "Mira said you wished to see me, Master?" Lucy inquired of the old man.

"Yes, child. I have a job for you that I think you will be very interested in," he said as he pulled a sheet of paper out of a drawer and handed it to her. "You see, the reward is a silver key and I immediately thought of you when the request came in."

Lucy couldn't help but feel elated at the prospect of gaining a new key. But that elation came crashing down on her when she read through the job request on the sheet of paper.

"But...this is an S-class job..." she said tentatively. The master nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, the job description is rather vague, but it says that a monster has been attacking and terrorizing the residents of Silverton. Since I don't know any specifics about the monster in question, I made it an S-class mission based off of the reward."

Lucy looked down again at the paper in her hand. Along with the silver key, the sender of the request was offering 200,000 jewels in compensation for their work. It made Lucy wonder all the more what kind of monster Silverton was dealing with. But the offer of the silver key was too tempting, so she found herself nodding.

"Alright, I'll take the job," she said as she looked up at the master. "As soon as Erza gets back from her mission, we'll leave for Silverton."

"I'm afraid that would take too much time, my dear," Master Makarov said. "You see, this request is a rather urgent one, so it should not be delayed any more than necessary. Which is why I suggest you leave tomorrow morning at the latest."

Lucy frowned. "But then..." she trailed off as her gaze finally shifted towards Laxus. He just scowled even more. She was beginning to see what the Master had in mind.

Seeing her glance in Laxus' direction, the master cleared his throat. "Yes, I would like Laxus to go with you on this mission, considering it is an S-class job."

Lucy wanted to argue, insist that anyone but Laxus accompany her, but if it truly was an urgent request she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. It would take Erza at least another week to get back, and there were no other S-class mages available.

Lucy sighed. "If you think that would be for the best, Master, I'll agree."

"Well I won't," Laxus finally spoke up from the other side of the office.

Makarov turned to the dragon slayer. "There's no other S-class mages available, Laxus. You and Lucy _will_ go together, whether you like it or not."

Laxus' brow furrowed in annoyance. "She'll just get in the way. If she wants the key so bad, I'll take the mission by myself and get it for her!"

Lucy was stunned for a second. Why would Laxus do such a thing for her? But she regained her composure and started to argue with him. "I'm no charity case. I'm going to get that key because I worked for it. I'm not going to accept it just because you hand it over. So either we do this mission together, or not at all!"

Laxus shrugged. "Guess we're not doing it then."

"Oh, yes you are!" Makarov jumped into the conversation to say. "Unless you'd rather stay here at Fairy Tail to do _all_ of the paperwork I've been letting build up for the past week..."

Laxus' eyes nearly fell out of his head, they were so wide. Then his eyes narrowed, "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Makarov countered, an undeniable glint in his eye. "Go look in your office."

Not believing the old man, Laxus left. Several minutes later, the office door slammed open, revealing an enraged dragon slayer. He walked over to where Lucy was sitting and snatched up the job request she was holding. After staring at it for a few seconds, he crumpled it in his fist and let it fall to the floor.

"Meet me at the train station tomorrow," he growled, not even looking at Lucy. "Don't be late."

With that, he walked out of the room.

Lucy found herself at the train station the next day, waiting for Laxus. She had gotten up earlier than was probably necessary, but she had slept fitfully the previous night. She wasn't even sure why.

Five minutes prior to the train's departure, Laxus finally strolled up to her, carrying a medium-sized bag at his side.

Lucy stood up and held out a ticket to the lightning mage. "I bought you ticket for you," she informed him. Laxus took it with a grunt before getting on the train without so much as another word to her. Lucy followed him with a sigh.

Lucy stowed her bag in the overhead compartment and settled down into her seat. Laxus did the same across the aisle, making himself comfortable in the mostly empty train car. That comfort didn't last long as the train started to move. Lucy looked across the aisle and saw Laxus' face had turned slightly green as the train picked up speed. _So he gets motion sick too, huh?_

Lucy wanted to feel bad for him, but there was something comical about seeing the strongest mage in Magnolia reduced to miserable sickness from a piece of moving machinery. But Lucy kept her smile to herself and looked out the window.

Three agonizing hours later and the train carrying the two mages arrived in Silverton.

Lucy and Laxus were the only people to depart from the train when they arrived in Silverton. But there were dozens of people waiting for the train on the platform, all of them packed like they were leaving for good. Lucy momentarily got separated from Laxus in the fray, but he wasn't difficult to locate in the crowd. So Lucy pushed her way through until she met Laxus on the other side of the train station, where he barely waited for her before he started walking away.

After catching up to him, Laxus and Lucy made their way over to a hotel to drop off their baggage. The hotel owner only reluctantly gave them two separate rooms, warning them that they could only stay the night since he would be leaving Silverton the next day. After they left the hotel, the two mages made their way over to the home of the mayor.

The mayor himself opened the door, looking frightened out of his wits to see two strangers on his doorstep. It was only after they introduced themselves as Fairy Tail mages that the mayor immediately changed demeanor and ushered them into his home. After settling into the mayor's office, Laxus went ahead and began asking questions, beating Lucy to the punch.

"What can you tell us about this monster that has been attacking the town?" Laxus began.

"No one's really been able to identify the monster," the mayor said, running a hand through his frazzled hair. "You see, it always attacks at night. And the people who witness the attacks have given varying accounts of the creature. Some say it resembles some kind of arachnid, while others say its a snake. There's even a distinct possibility there's more than one monster, though the attacks have always been caused by a lone creature."

"Do you know where these monsters are coming from?" the dragon slayer asked.

"I believe that they are coming from the forest west of here. Most of the eyewitness accounts state that in some form."

After a few more questions, the two mages left the mayor's residence and headed for the forest. The journey was an entirely silent one, and while Lucy wanted to make conversation, she couldn't think of anything to say. That and she had the feeling the dragon slayer at her side wanted to be left alone.

Laxus' superior sense of smell came in handy, saying he could smell something rotting to the north of the forest. Remembering how useful Natsu's sense of smell had been in past missions, Lucy trusted him to lead her to the source.

After trekking through the woods for a solid hour, the duo finally came across a cave.

"It's definitely coming from in there," Laxus said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Are you sure its the monster's cave? This could just be a bear's den," Lucy commented.

"Have you seen any other animals in the time we've been here, Blondie? It's because the monster ate them all. There are no other predators in this forest. It's definitely the monster's cave," he argued back.

Lucy gave the dragon slayer an irritated look before turning back to the cave. They weren't even sure what they were up against.

Suddenly a chittering sound came in the direction of the cave. Lucy focused her vision and could distinctly see something moving in the darkness. Then something stepped out of the cave and into the light.

It was big. And black. And hairy.

It had a dozen beady black eyes and eight hairy legs. It was close to being five feet tall and twice as wide, officially making it the biggest spider Lucy had ever seen. Some kind of liquid, maybe poison or saliva, dribbled down the spider's fangs as if it was salivating when it looked at the two mages.

Lucy felt a shudder clatter down her spine at the monstrosity before them. Normal-sized spiders, she could handle. But giant ones?

But she shook off her fear and grabbed her whip. "Alright, let's-"

A strong bolt of lightning zipped by her and toward the spider. Something that sounded a lot like a scream of agony came out of the spider as Laxus' lightning bolt electrocuted it for several seconds. Then the spider rolled over, its legs curling inward. It was certainly dead after a bolt like that.

Lucy stood awestruck for a second before turning to the Dragon Slayer angrily.

"Spark Plug!" she exclaimed. Laxus looked at her in surprise, unsure what he did wrong. "We were supposed to work together to bring down that thing!"

Laxus' surprise faded. Instead he gave her a look of indifference as he scoffed. "Does it matter? The monster is dead. Let's just go get our reward."

"But I didn't do anything! I haven't earned my reward! You did all the work!" she yelled as he walked away. She sullenly followed, still intent on giving him a piece of her mind.

Laxus suddenly stopped. He turned back to the cave and waited. Lucy stopped to look at him. She was about to ask what was wrong when he held up a hand, "Listen," he said. Lucy turned to the cave as well.

"Youuuu..." a voice hissed from the dark depths of the cave. The two mages waited, poised to attack. A moment later, a hunched over figure emerged from the cave, clothed in a ratty and tattered robe with a hood shielding most of the person's face from the two blondes.

"You..." the man repeated, lifting a shaky finger to point at the two Fairy Tail mages. "You killed Fangar...my pet..."

"Fangar?" Lucy murmured. She looked at the remains of the giant spider just outside the cave.

"Whyyyy?" the man asked, his whole body shaking with anger.

"Your...pet...as you put it, was attacking the town and eating its citizens," Laxus said in a monotone voice. "It needed to be destroyed."

"My petsss...my friendssss...need to eaaat..." the man slowly hissed.

"Pets? As in," Lucy gulped, taking a half-step back, "more than one?"

The man grinned wickedly, his hood falling back to reveal his gruesome face. His hands began to glow a dark purple color. A chittering sound could be heard from the cave behind him.

"Killll...!" the man shouted. Creatures of different shapes and sizes suddenly emerged from the cave. Spiders, scorpions, and snakes of large proportions skittered and slithered out of the darkness toward the two mages.

"Stay behind me," Laxus told Lucy as he got into a fighting stance, lightning crackling at his fists.

"Yeah right!" Lucy yelled back as she readied a key in her right hand. "Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!"

A flash of golden light and the archer appeared. " _Moshi-moshi_!" he said with a salute.

"Shoot the monsters with your arrows, Sagittarius!" Lucy quickly instructed. "Aim for their eyes!"

Lucy turned to Laxus to tell him her game plan, but he was already shooting lightning bolts at the creatures. She huffed but took out her whip to fight the overgrown vermin, pouring her magic into her whip to make it longer.

Laxus and the spirit managed to take the monsters out at a distance, while Lucy kept a few of the creatures immobile long enough for the others to kill them. But no matter how many monsters they killed, more just seemed to come. Lucy eyed the cave the creatures were coming from. Her guess was that the so-called 'master' of the creatures was a mage who could change normal-sized objects and creatures into larger versions of themselves, and probably even command them. She watched the mage as his hands glowed and a spider the side of a large dog grew into existence. The cave the creatures were coming from was probably full of other kinds of vermin, and Lucy didn't want to find out just how many were in the cave. If she could block the cave entrance somehow, the evil mage would eventually run out of 'pets' to send their way.

Lucy cracked her whip to get the monsters to back away from her. _Please be big enough,_ she prayed silently. When she was sure that none of the creatures would attack her in the middle of casting her spell, she raised a single finger in the air.

"Meteor Strike!" she cried out, aiming for the gaping mouth of the cave. The roar of something massive passing quickly through the air sounded out, followed by a crash that rocked Earthland beneath them. When the tremors subsided and the dust cleared, Lucy nearly cried out in joy to see the entrance of the cave blocked by a large meteorite.

"Noooo!" the master of the monsters cried out before falling to his knees. He turned his marred face toward the blonde celestial mage. His hands began to glow again as he pointed in her direction, "Destrooooyyy!" The few monsters that remained suddenly changed direction and skittered toward Lucy. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Laxus send a bolt toward the rogue mage, causing a yell of distress to leave him as he was being electrocuted.

Lucy kept cracking her whip to keep the creatures at bay; unfortunately, she didn't see the spider that was coming up behind her until Laxus yelled out, "Lucy!"

Lucy turned her head and saw the monstrosity coming for her. Without even thinking, she swiped at it with a kick. She kicked it again where its mouth should have been. Something pierced through the leather of her shoe and into her ankle.

"Ah!" she cried out. A bolt of lightning flew past her head and zapped the spider, sending it sprawling and writhing a few feet away. Lucy immediately fell to the ground, the pain in her foot overwhelming. Then she felt a numbing sensation grow from her foot, up her leg, and spread to the rest of her body.

 _Oh no,_ Lucy thought, unable to speak. Though she was completely aware of her surroundings, Lucy's limbs refused to move. Even her eyes refused to blink.

Laxus and Sagittarius finished off the remaining monsters before running over to Lucy.

"Blondie?! Blondie, come on! Talk to me!" Laxus crouched down beside Lucy and started snapping his fingers and waving his hands in front of her motionless eyes. He checked her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was still alive.

Laxus pulled out a small first aid kit out of his pocket, opened it, and pulled out a vial filled with pink liquid. He uncorked it and brought the vial to Lucy's lips.

"Damn," said as the liquid ran out of her mouth and down the side of her face. Thinking quickly, Laxus poured the rest of the vial's contents into his own mouth. He tilted Lucy's head and opened her mouth before his own lips descended upon hers.

 _WHAT IS HE-?!_ Lucy thought in a panic as Laxus' lips touched her own. She felt some kind of liquid enter her mouth and go down her throat. Laxus retracted himself from her prone figure, waiting for the antidote to take effect. Sure enough, Lucy blinked a few times before she turned her head to cough. Laxus breathed a sigh of relief before Lucy sat up and weakly punched him in the chest.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Lucy hoarsely screamed at the dragon slayer as she pushed him away. Laxus looked at her blankly before his expression hardened.

"I'd call it saving your life, Blondie," he said coolly.

"But did you _need_ to kiss me?!"

"It was the only way I could give you the antidote. So it wasn't really a kiss," he suddenly smirked. "Unless you'd like a real one?"

"No!" Lucy turned away from him and sulked. He chuckled at her behavior and packed up the first aid kit.

"Wait here," he said as he stood up. He walked away, making his way through the carnage of the destroyed monsters before reaching the rogue mage he had shocked. He was still unconscious, much to Laxus' relief. The lightning mage picked the old man up and slung him over his shoulder before making his way back to Lucy. When he got back to her, he finally noticed that the man in the horse costume was gone. Lucy must have sent him back to the Celestial World to avoid using up too much magic.

"Right. I don't have anything to tie this guy up with, so we'll have to make it back to town before he wakes up," the dragon slayer told her.

"I can solve that problem," Lucy said, her former anger seeming to have dissipated. She reached for her keys and opened a gate. A pink-haired maid appeared.

"Yes, Princess?" the maid said with a bow to Lucy, who was still sitting on the ground.

"Virgo, can you tie up the unconscious man? Make sure he can't run away or use his magic."

"Of course, Princess," the maid named Virgo got to work as soon as Laxus placed the man on the ground. Soon enough, the man had his arms and legs tied together behind his back, almost trussed up like a turkey.

"I'm not sure the gag was necessary, Virgo, but whatever you think is best," Lucy commented. "Thank you, that'll be all."

The maid bowed once more before disappearing in a flash of golden light. Laxus loaded the unconscious mage onto his shoulder.

"Alright, guess I'll have to carry you both," he said holding a hand out to Lucy. Lucy's eyes widened.

"No, that's okay! I can walk!" she used a nearby tree to lean against as she righted herself, leaning on her good leg. But she nearly fell over as soon as she put weight on her injured foot.

Laxus sighed. "Don't be difficult. It'll take twice as long to get back to town with you limping all the way."

Another flash of golden light appeared and Loke was standing near Lucy. "Perhaps I can be of assistance," the lion said, holding a hand out to Lucy.

It was Lucy's turn to sigh. "Loke."

Laxus eyed the redhead suspiciously, finding his sudden appearance all too timely. But the dragon slayer shrugged and said, "Fine by me. You carry the princess and we'll be on our way."

Lucy was much less argumentative with Loke carrying her, a notion that somewhat irked Laxus.

The sun was almost completely set behind the horizon by the time the group got back to Silverton. Laxus instructed Loke to take Lucy back to the hotel while he took care of the unconscious mage and reported to the mayor. By the time Laxus got back to the hotel, it was already dark. But he got the reward and the rogue mage was off to prison.

He stopped by Lucy's room to give her half of the reward and the silver key. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Lucy called out. Laxus opened the door to see Lucy on her bed, tending to her wound.

Laxus closed the door behind him and approached the bed. "I've already talked with the mayor. Here's your share of the reward," he handed her a thick envelope. "The key's in there, too."

Lucy smiled gratefully at the dragon slayer. Working with him hadn't been so bad. "Thank you, Laxus." She returned to cleaning her wound with an antiseptic, but the awkward angle of the wound made it difficult. Laxus sighed.

"Let me help you with that," he said. He lifted Lucy's foot and sat on the bed, placing her foot in his lap.

"It's okay! I can-" one glare from the dragon slayer shut her up and got her to stop wriggling around. Lucy sheepishly allowed Laxus to tend to her puncture wound, finding his touches careful and gentle to her injury. A few minutes later, Laxus got up and placed her now bandaged foot back on the bed.

"Get some sleep. The train leaves at ten tomorrow morning," he said heading for the door.

"Laxus?" Lucy said. Laxus stilled with his hand on the doorknob. He looked at her. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I understand now you were just trying to help. I'm sorry I yelled at you," Lucy shifted her eyes away and blushed at the memory of Laxus' lips on hers. It wasn't really a kiss, right?

Laxus smiled a little. "Don't worry about it," he said "And that offer for an actual kiss still stands..."

Laxus easily caught the pillow that was thrown at his face. He laughed and tossed it back before leaving the room.

Lucy groaned at his behavior, but smiled in spite of herself.

Morning came the next day. Both mages made it out of the hotel and into the train station right on time. Lucy even managed to make it there without Laxus' help, saying her injured ankle felt much better. The three hour ride home was uneventful, and Laxus managed to make it without getting sick once. As soon as the train rolled into Magnolia, Laxus and Lucy made their way to the guild to report on the mission.

"I'll talk to Gramps about the mission. You go see Wendy about your ankle," Laxus told Lucy as they were walking up to the guild.

"Really? Thanks, Laxus," the celestial mage replied.

As soon as the two blondes entered the guild, a blue blur flew straight into Lucy, making her fall over with a yelp.

"Lucyyyy!" the tearful Exceed snuggled into Lucy's chest. "I missed you!"

Lucy laughed at Happy's antics. "I was only gone for one day, Happy." But she hugged the Exceed close.

"Lucy!" three other voices sounded in unison from a nearby table. Lucy stood up and greeted her team. Natsu began tugging on her arm, leading her back to the table.

"Come on, Lucy! Tell us about your mission!" Natsu begged. Lucy acquiesced after she noticed Laxus making his way toward the second floor, deciding to forgo his suggestion of seeing Wendy right away.

Laxus made his way into his grandfather's office.

"Ah, you're back. Where's Lucy?" Makarov asked right away.

"With her team. You'd think those idiots couldn't function without her," Laxus responded.

"Well, she is a much-loved member of Fairy Tail, after all. But how did the job go?"

"Fine. I'd hardly call it S-class worthy, though," Laxus shrugged. "Which makes me wonder the real reason you insisted I go with her. She could have handled it easily by herself or with her team."

Makarov smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Laxus' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you up to, old man?"

The master waved him off. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, brat. Now go, I've got work to do."

Laxus eyed the mountain of paperwork on the old man's desk, smirking to himself as he went out the door.

 **Was Laxus OOC? I'm sorry.**

 **I don't know if Laxus would actually carry around an exact antidote for Lucy's paralysis, but the scene was just begging for an awkward first kiss!**

 **At first I was going to have Laxus be the one to be poisoned, but then I thought "Nah."**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Your Hero

Fairy Tail does not belong to me.

Lucy was feeling bright and chipper the next morning, mostly at the prospect of forming a contract with her newest spirit. She quickly got dressed and went for her morning run, feeling her leg muscles get stronger with every passing day. After returning to her house, she showered and quickly ate breakfast so that she could get to Fairy Tail. She wanted to reserve a spot for herself on the training field behind the guild before anyone could beat her to it.

She was in luck when she got to the guild. Few people were up at such an early hour and Lucy had the first slot on the training field reserved for herself. She had chosen to use the practice field to create a contract with her new spirit just in case she wanted to see what kinds of moves the spirit had.

Moving onto the soft ground of the training field, Lucy pulled out her new key. She instantly recognized the symbol on it when she first got it. So she held the key out, poised to summon her spirit.

"Open, Gate of the Hero, Perseus!" she cried out as she flicked her wrist.

A flash of golden light, and a man suddenly stood before Lucy.

He was tall and muscular, his sleeveless tunic showing off his arm muscles. His pants were tucked into his knee-high boots and two swords hung off his belt. A cloak was wrapped around his shoulders, a shield was strapped to his back, and a headband held his long hair back. His facial features were sharp and sculpted to perfection. In short, he looked like a Greek god in marble.

He placed a hand over his heart and bowed to Lucy. "I am Perseus, at your service, Mistress."

Lucy smiled at her new spirit. "Hello, Perseus. My name is Lucy," she told him, "but I am not your mistress. I hope to be your friend."

The man looked up at her in surprise. He straightened. "Are you Lucy Heartfilia? I have heard a great deal about you from your other spirits in the Celestial World. It would be an honor to form a contract with someone as kind and brave as yourself." Lucy blushed at the praise.

Lucy smiled again. Just as she and Perseus finished their agreement, Lucy saw someone running up to the training field out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, Lucy!" someone called out to her. Lucy turned to see Natsu, Gray, and Erza running up to the practice field. Lucy waved to them.

The three mages came to a stop where Lucy stood, off to the side of the field. "What'cha up to?" Natsu asked, looking between the spirit and Lucy.

"Who is this, Lucy?" Erza asked straight away, eyeing Perseus.

Lucy smiled at her friends, pleased to be able to introduce her new spirit to her team. "Everyone, this is Perseus, my newest spirit. Perseus, this is my team. Natsu, Gray, and Erza."

Once again, Perseus laid a hand over his heart and bowed to the three new arrivals. Team Natsu returned the greeting, each in their own way.

"So...what's your specialty, Perseus?" Gray asked the spirit.

"I am a master in the art of the sword. I can fight with two swords or alternatively with a shield," Perseus answered.

"So you're a combat spirit. That's useful," Gray said.

"Lucy, do you think I could fight Perseus?" Erza asked. "I have not trained yet today and would like an opponent to fight against." Lucy's eyes widened slightly in surprise. She looked at Perseus with uncertainty.

"Well, only if it's okay with you, Perseus? I admit I'd like to see what you can do..." she felt unsure about asking her new spirit to fight one of the strongest fighters in Fairy Tail. But Perseus only smiled and bowed once more to Lucy.

"It is perfectly fine with me, Lucy. I will do my best to not disappoint you," he said.

Both Erza and Perseus stepped onto the training field. Perseus drew both his swords when he saw Erza equip a sword to each hand. The mage and the spirit stood silently for a few seconds, sizing each other up. Erza made the first move, charging toward Perseus with both swords raised in attack.

Metal contacted with metal as Perseus blocked the attack, visibly digging his heels into the soft dirt as Erza pushed him back. Perseus seemed to gain his footing and thrust his weight forward, breaking the lock on their weapons. Erza thrust a blade forward toward Perseus' chest and the spirit parried.

This went on for a while, with Erza attacking at every angle and Perseus parrying and blocking each attack that came his way. Gray, Natsu, and Lucy found themselves awestruck as the spirit from the Spirit World was taking every blow the great Titania threw at him with the skill of a great swordsman. Lucy did notice, however, that Perseus was stronger at blocking attacks than attacking outright, making the celestial mage think he was more of a defensive spirit. But that could only be because he was going up against Erza, who was an absolute machine when it came to swordplay.

As the fight was going on, Lucy realized that her time on the training field must almost be finished.

So she called out, "Guys! You're going to have to wrap it up! Someone else may need to use the training field!"

Perseus and Erza looked over at Lucy as they were gridlocked. Both fighters stepped away from each other, their weapons at their sides. Perseus sheathed his swords. Erza and the spirit returned the side of the training field to where the others were standing.

"That was really impressive, Perseus. I can't think of many people who can go up against Erza for such a long time," Lucy praised the spirit.

Erza nodded in agreement. "Yes, I was surprised as well. Thank you for sparring with me."

Perseus smiled. "Thank you. But if anyone should be praised, it should be Lucy. I have had few owners who have been able to hold my gate open for so long, and still have magic to spare. I look forward to our partnership in the future."

Lucy beamed. "I look forward to it too, Perseus. You can go back to the Spirit World now."

With one final bow, the spirit disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"He is right, Lucy. I can certainly say that you have grown as a mage and as a fighter these past few months, just from what I've seen on our jobs together," Erza commented to the blonde.

Lucy smiled bashfully. "Thanks, Erza. I've actually been training for the past month. So I guess it's paid off."

With Lucy's hour on the training field over, Team Natsu headed back into the guild. Everyone sat down at the table where Lisanna and Happy were eating breakfast together. Natsu pressed a kiss to Lisanna's forehead before trying to pick a fight with Gray. But one warning from Erza and the two behaved...for now.

The girls talked about nothing in particular, swapping stories from past missions and about the antics of Lisanna's newlywed life with Natsu. They were laughing about a particular anecdote from Erza's last job when Lucy heard a voice speak up behind her.

"Blondie."

Lucy had to practically turn around in her seat to face the only man in Fairy Tail who called her that. She pouted at the use of the nickname, but before she could even think to retort, Laxus already had her arm in a vise grip and was dragging her out of her seat.

"Come on," was all he said as she stumbled after him towards the stairs.

"Laxus! What are you-" Lucy struggled to get away from him, but he was much stronger than her. She was still struggling by the time they reached the top of the stairs and went down the hall to his office. He opened the door and thrust the celestial mage into a chair by his desk. Lucy rubbed the arm where he had grabbed her, turning to glare at the Lightning Dragon Slayer when he slammed something down on the desk in front of her. It was a large stack of files. Lucy looked up at Laxus for an explanation.

"Time for you to make good on our deal, Blondie," he said. He walked around the table to sit in the chair behind the desk.

"Deal?" she said, her mind drawing a blank for a moment. "Oh, right. For the wedding date thing."

"But did you need to drag me here for that?" she asked, glaring at the man beside her.

"Wanted to make sure you didn't try to back out of it," he said as he handed her a pen and started on a smaller stack of paperwork.

Lucy looked at him indignantly. "I always keep my promises, Laxus."

He glanced in her direction. "I'll remember that for future reference."

Lucy looked at the stack Laxus had placed in front of her. "What is this, anyway?" She asked as she took the top file and opened it.

"A month's worth of damage reports and complaints from Team Natsu's destruction."

Lucy's eyes nearly fell out of her head. That huge stack was from one month alone?!

"I thought since it's your team, you should be the one to do it," Laxus smirked.

Lucy sighed and decided to get to work.

The paperwork itself was rather self-explanatory, since Laxus didn't seem to want to help, but Lucy was perfectly fine with the silence that fell over the small office.

"I've been meaning to ask," Laxus said suddenly. Lucy paused to look up at him. "What possessed you to ask me out of all people to go to the wedding with you?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Lucy huffed. "Believe me, you weren't my first choice, Light Bulb," Laxus frowned. "I must have asked every available guy in Magnolia to go to the wedding with me, but they all turned me down. And when I asked Mira if she knew anyone in Fairy Tail was without a date, she said you were the only one."

Laxus sighed, looking down at the papers on the desk. "Yeah, I figured Mira would be in on this," he said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the dragon slayer. "What are you talking about?"

"There were plenty of guys without dates at the wedding. Jet, Droy, Max..." Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. "I have a feeling Mira was trying to get us to go together, since she kept telling me you were the only girl without a date."

"And you know the S-class mission we went on together?" he said, looking her in the eye. Lucy nodded. "I thought it was way too easy to be an S-class mission. But Gramps insisted it was. And I noticed he didn't even bother to post the mission on the job board. I checked the date the request was sent in, and Gramps showed it to us a week after the guild got it. I think he waited for all of the other S-class mages to go out on missions so that I would be the only one available, then make it so that we would have no choice but to go together."

Lucy was silent for a moment. Then she looked up at Laxus and said, "I wouldn't put Mira above a match-making scheme, but the master? Are you sure?"

"Positive. Heh. The two are actually working together to get the two of us to go out," he laughed. "Not sure why they think I would like a girl like you."

Lucy's expression hardened as she crossed her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"No offense, Blondie, but you're just not my type."

Lucy turned her head away. "Well who says I would go out with you, either!"

Laxus laughed again.

There was a pause in the conversation.

"We could you know," he suddenly said. "Go out I mean."

Lucy whipped her head to the side to look at him, her eyes wide. Then her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Then what was all that about me not being your type?!" she asked.

"Just hear me out," Laxus said, his hands up in defense. "What if we go out just to get Mira and the old man off our backs?"

Lucy frowned, but listened.

"We could say we went out, but it didn't go well or something, we'll say we didn't click. Then Mira and Gramps would have to stop trying to get us together."

Lucy placed a finger on her chin in thought. It wasn't a bad idea. "That could work..." she said. She knew that Mira just wanted her to be happy, but Lucy wasn't sure Laxus was 'the one.'

Lucy looked at Laxus, a determined look on her face. "Alright, how do you want to do this?"

Laxus gave her his signature smirk. "Thought you would agree. I'll come by your place around six tonight. We'll go from there," he turned back to his paperwork, right before remarking, "that is if you can get all of those damage reports done before then."

"Just watch me!" Lucy said confidently. Laxus laughed, apparently failing to notice that Lucy was already halfway done with the stack in front of her.

More silence ensued, each of the blondes locked in their own thoughts and focused on their work. Unbeknownst to each other though, both of them would sneak side glances at each other when the other wasn't looking.

"I'll let you keep working," Laxus said, standing up. "I need a drink." He stretched his arms over his head. Lucy couldn't help but ogle his muscles as they flexed, easily showing through the fabric he wore like a second skin rather than a shirt. Lucy quickly looked away before he could catch her staring.

"Alright," she said as she went onto the next calculation. Laxus left the office.

About thirty minutes later, Laxus was still at the guild bar, sipping at his glass of whiskey. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy coming down the stairs and walk toward him. He glanced in her direction. She was carrying a piece of paper with her, making Laxus think that she had a question about something.

"You need something, Blondie?" he asked, turning back to face the bar and raise his glass, not even letting her explain first.

"Actually...I'm done," she said as she smiled. Laxus froze, his glass raised to his lips. It was a good thing there wasn't any whiskey actually in his mouth because he would have spit it out at Lucy's announcement. She was _done?_ How? With the number of damage reports and estimates he had given her, it should have taken at least three hours to do! At least it would have taken _him_ three hours. He set his glass down and turned toward her.

"You're done?" he asked, trying to act like he wasn't impressed.

"I am," Lucy said as she nodded. Laxus narrowed his gaze on her, looking as if he didn't believe her.

"If I find even _one_ damage report is unfinished..." he threatened.

"Please, Spark Plug. I never leave anything half-finished," she said. She held out the piece of paper. "Here's the total of the damage reports. I imagine it's your job to figure out how to keep Fairy Tail out of the red. So have fun with that." she waved before walking off to join her teammates.

Laxus dared a look at the piece of paper. For once, the total at the bottom did not make him feel like he was going to have an aneurysm. Given that he had already totaled the sum of royalties that the guild earned from the jobs its members went on, it looked like Fairy Tale would be kept in the black for another month. Just barely.

His perceptive hearing told him that Lucy had only gone up to her teammates to tell them she was leaving for the day. Something about getting ready for a date. Laxus kept his smile to himself before getting up to go back to his office. He still had a few things to finish before going on his date with Blondie.

Soooo, this chapter was kind of weak. I know. But necessary for plot development.

I promise lots of fun in the next chapter!


	5. Not a Date

**I moved the rating up to M to be safe. And there are definitely going to be lemons in the future, once I figure out where I want this story to go.**

 **Thank you so much for the nice reviews! Okay, on to the next chapter!**

 **I don't own Fairy Tail.**

Lucy contemplated over what to wear for her outing with Laxus. Since she didn't know where they were going, she couldn't be sure what would be appropriate to wear. Should she go casual or formal? Or somewhere in between just to be safe? It wasn't like Laxus was strapped for cash like her, so he probably took all of his other dates to fancier places than she was used to.

Lucy frowned. For some reason, the thought of him being with other women gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't like she ever saw him with other women, but she had heard of his conquests plenty of times through the hotbed that was Fairy Tail gossip. While Laxus had told Lucy she wasn't his type, she had pretty good idea what his type was. Usually a drop-dead gorgeous fan or bar-goer that he picked up for one night and never saw again. Well, Lucy thought of herself as beautiful. So why wasn't she Laxus' type? Was it because he thought her to be too innocent? She wasn't a virgin after all, so that hardly made her innocent. Okay, so she'd only had sex once. So what?

But here was Laxus, an absolute sex god, telling her she wasn't his type. It irked her to no end, as if he was saying she wasn't good enough for the great Laxus Dreyar. Then again, she probably wasn't. Having very little experience when it came to sex, she probably wouldn't know how to...

Wait a minute. Why was she even thinking about this? Why was she comparing herself to the hook-ups Laxus made? Why did it even matter? It wasn't like he was expecting her to strip down and throw herself at him after their date was over, right? Mavis, she hoped not.

Lucy shook her head to clear her thoughts and finally decided on a white and blue striped dress, something that was rightly casual but could pass as acceptable at a fancier place.

The doorbell rang at six o' clock on the dot. Luckily Lucy was all ready to go. She grabbed her purse and keys then opened the door. The open door revealed Laxus standing on Lucy's doorstep. The first thing Lucy noticed was that Laxus had changed out of his t-shirt and jeans for a green button up and black pants. So he was taking this seriously.

Lucy smiled. "Hey," she said to Laxus, "are you ready to go?"

"Just waiting on you, Blondie," Laxus said expressionlessly, stepping away from the door.

Lucy rolled her eyes when her back was turned to lock the front door. Both blondes stepped away from the apartment and onto the street. They started walking down the street side-by-side.

"I hope you're not expecting us to hold hands," Laxus commented as they walked.

"Uh, no," Lucy said, inching away from the dragon slayer. "I'm not going to make you do that."

Laxus chuckled at her reaction and put his hands in his pockets.

"So where are we going?" Lucy asked out of curiosity.

"You'll see," was all he said.

"Oh, Lu-chan! And Laxus?" a voice rang out from behind them.

Lucy turned her head to see Levy and Gajeel walking up the street.

 _Crap._

Lucy plastered a smile on her face and waved to her friends as they walked up.

"Hey," Lucy said before Levy could ask anything, "what are you two up to?"

"Oh, just going to my place," Levy said with a smile. "What are _you two_ doing together?" she asked a little slyly.

"Oh, uh..." Lucy searched for the right words to explain, unsure if it was wise to tell them she and Laxus were on a fake date.

"We're on a date," Laxus said when Lucy failed to make complete sentences. "Can't stop to chat." Lucy involuntarily blushed at Laxus' directness, while Levy seemed to be giving the biggest smile she possessed.

"That's great! I mean...I hope you have a good time!" Levy said as she stood there beaming. Lucy thought her reaction was a bit strange when she heard Laxus grumble beside her. Gajeel laughed.

"Well, like Laxus said, we have to go," Lucy said quickly.

"Okay, Lu-chan! See you tomorrow!" Levy's farewell mixed with Gajeel's laughter.

Lucy watched them walk off, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Laxus cleared his throat to grab her attention, gesturing her to follow him.

Laxus seemed familiar with the steakhouse he led her to because the greeter at the door immediately seated them and even called him, 'Mr. Dreyar.' Lucy didn't comment on it, but she did get the feeling that some of the people in the restaurant were looking at them. She wasn't sure why.

Dinner was awkward to say the least. Even though Laxus was polite throughout and possessed far better table manners than some of the other dragon slayers (you can guess which ones), he was silent for the most part. Lucy tried striking up a conversation by asking him how his last mission went, but his glare and curt answer made it clear he didn't want to talk. Lucy guessed he didn't like to be disturbed when eating. She recalled how easily Natsu would talk with his mouth full when prompted to talk when eating. She should be thankful at least that Laxus wasn't like that.

When they were done eating, Lucy opened her purse to pay for her meal.

"Put that away," Laxus suddenly said. He got out his own wallet. "I got it."

Lucy began to protest, saying she should at least pay for the tip, but Laxus silenced her by saying he wouldn't have her pay for anything.

Lucy didn't really like it, since their 'date' didn't really feel like a date at all, more like two friends-er, acquaintances sharing a meal together. They left the restaurant after that.

Laxus and Lucy were walking beside the canal, heading towards Lucy's apartment when a voice called out to Lucy, "Excuse me, Miss?"

Lucy turned to see a man not much older than her standing beside her. The man smiled at her.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but are you Lucy Heartfilia?"

"I am. Can I help you ?" she asked as she heard an irritated sigh come out of Laxus behind her.

The young man's smile became brighter. "My name is Todd. I'm such a big fan of yours."

Lucy blushed. The guy did have really nice eyes. "Oh, it's nice to meet-"

"Especially of your modeling," a lecherous note suddenly entered Todd's tone as his eyes moved up and down her body.

Lucy blinked. Okay, maybe his eyes weren't so nice now.

"Well, that's good to hear. I'm sorry, but I have to get going-" she quickly tried to make up an excuse to get away from him.

"But where are you going? I thought maybe we could grab a few drinks together," Todd continued.

"I-I don't think so," Lucy started to wave her hand in front of her in dissent.

"Come onnnn. What could one drink hurt?" he said, grabbing her hand.

"Hey, asshole. She said no." Laxus suddenly spoke up.

Todd looked over and seemed to notice Laxus for the first time. "Oh. Are you on a date?"

Lucy nearly breathed a sigh of relief. She could just about kiss Laxus for being there. "Yes, I am! So I'm afraid I can't-"

Todd suddenly wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Lucy froze in shock.

"Well ditch this loser and come with me. I know how to show you a good time..." he breathed into her ear.

Before Lucy even had a chance to push him away and give him a piece of her mind, Todd's arm was wrenched away from her. Lucy turned just in time to see Laxus throw the guy into the middle of the outdoor eating area of a café down the street. He crashed into a table laden with food, effectively breaking it. Lucy saw Laxus' fist spark with electricity before she looked up at his hardened expression.

They stood there a moment, Lucy being too shocked to register what was going on around her. She was startled when a single drop of rain hit the end of her nose. Laxus seemed to notice the rain too, because he suddenly grabbed her hand and turned around.

"Let's go," was all he said. Their quick trot toward her apartment soon turned into an outright run as the sprinkling rain became a downpour.

Laxus held onto her hand the entire way, only letting go when they were in front of her apartment.

"Thanks, Laxus!" Lucy gave him an awkward smile, hoping that he heard her above the pounding of the rain on the pavement. She walked up the steps to unlock her door.

Above the din of the rain, Lucy thought she heard the sound of footsteps coming up the steps behind her. Just as she unlocked the door, she felt herself being spun around.

And before she even realized what was happening, Lucy's back was being pressed against the door and Laxus' lips were sealed over hers.

His left hand went to her waist while his right hand softly gripped the side of her face to angle her into the kiss. Lucy unwittingly gasped, which Laxus took as an invitation to plunge into her warm mouth. His tongue explored the every crevice of her cavern, slipping around her own tongue and enticing her to play. Lucy was acting purely on instinct, having never been kissed like this before, but the wet muscle of her mouth moved shyly against his, finding the sensation thrilling. She leaned into the kiss, latching onto the fabric of his shirt at his shoulder as her knees steadily became weaker. Sensing her response, Laxus pressed himself a little closer to the smaller blonde until their chests touched. He could hear her erratic heartbeat matching the pace of his own.

Eventually the need for air came burned in both of their lungs. Since Lucy had little room to step away Laxus reluctantly retracted his tongue to soften the kiss and pulled his lips away from hers. Both mages were breathing irregularly at this point, each gasping to catch their breath. Once her breathing stabilized, Lucy dared to open her eyes to see Laxus staring back at her. Laxus' blue eyes were darker than normal, unmistakable dark clouds of lust residing within them. The sight of that restrained lust drove an unfamiliar energy through Lucy's veins and a warmth to pool beneath her stomach, almost making Lucy forget to breathe. She couldn't help it. It entranced her.

"Lucy..." Laxus murmured, the hand on her cheek moving down to her neck.

And as if he had said the magic word, the spell over Lucy was instantly broken.

"ThanksfordinnerLaxusIhadagreattimebye!" Lucy expended the words in a single breath as she turned the doorknob and rushed inside, slamming the door behind her.

Lucy stood in the dark with her back pressed to the door, her hand over her pounding heart. Her breathing was uneven as she finally switched on the lights and took a shaky step away from the door. Then she turned back around to face the door, knowing that Laxus was just on the other side.

Lucy lightly touched her lips.

She had certainly been kissed before. But never before had a kiss alone left her in such an aroused and weak state of mind. Oh hell, Laxus' kiss had reduced her to a boneless pile of goo and left her wanting more.

 _But what the fuck?!_

Lucy reached a hand out to touch the doorknob but froze. What was she supposed to do? Invite him in? Apologize? Hope he wasn't mad? She hesitantly took a step forward and looked through the peephole in the door to see outside. But all she could see was the rainy streets of Magnolia, Laxus nowhere in sight. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Lucy put her forehead on the door. Now what?

A shiver ran through her. It made Lucy realize that she was standing sopping wet in the middle of her kitchen. She stepped away from the door, put her purse and keys down on the table, and headed for the bathroom to take a hot shower before bed.

Laxus' head felt light and his feet felt like lead. What happened on Lucy's doorstep replayed in his mind over and over as he walked home in the rain.

 _That wasn't supposed to happen..._

He could feel the heat from her lips fading, but the arousal he felt from her touch still lingered. He wasn't even sure why he kissed her. But just seeing her in that nearly see-through dress, all wet from the rain made something in him snap.

Laxus liked to think he had excellent control over his mind and body. That came from years of training and self-discipline. He always made sure to keep his own emotions in check. But for some reason all those years of training and all self-control flew out the window when Lucy was around.

He thought back to when What's-his-face tried to steal her away earlier that evening. The guy irked him to begin with for making Lucy uncomfortable, but the moment the asshole put his arm around her was when Laxus really got pissed off. And before Laxus even knew what he was doing, the guy was already flying through the air. Laxus could think of one or two times when he had lost control, when he just let his instincts take over. But that had always been in the heat of battle.

Why had it happened with Lucy? Because she was nakama? No...if it had been anyone else, Laxus would have stepped out of it. He knew that all of the females in Fairy Tail were capable of handling a situation like that, Lucy included. So why had he reacted the way he did?

Laxus ran a frustrated hand through his wet hair.

He decided to forget walking home in favor of teleporting with his lightning. An instant later, he was in front of his house. He trudged inside, not minding that he was dripping wet from the rain. He immediately went up the steps and into his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt and dropping it on the floor. He walked into the adjoining bathroom and shed the rest of his clothes to get into the shower. He turned on the hot water and just let the streams of water cascade onto his chilled skin. He stood there, his thoughts unwittingly turning back to Lucy and how soft her lips were. And her taste...she tasted like the sweet white wine they'd had at the restaurant and something else he couldn't place.

He could tell from the way she kissed that she was rather inexperienced in that department. She had let him take control at first, but she had responded beautifully in the end, clinging to him like a lifeline and moving her tongue along with his. Laxus had never been turned on by a kiss alone before, but the combination of the heat from her body, her scent, and her taste had his senses practically overwhelmed. If he hadn't restrained himself, he probably would've...

 _Fuck._

Laxus sighed and turned the shower knob to cold.

 **Sorry I haven't been updating or working on this story like I should be. I'm currently writing another Laxus fic that is most definitely M-rated. Sorry, kids.**

 **If I had known writing a lemons was so hard...I would have written it anyway.**

 **But seriously, my writing process has been like this:**

 ***Writes one line of smut***

 ***Hides under a rock in shame***

 **Anyway, those reviews make me happy! Thank you soooo much!**

 **If you need me, I'll be under my rock.**


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